Broken Reflection
by PuppiesCanFly
Summary: Short one-shot of Nico reflecting on Percy and Annabeth's time in Tartarus. Comments appreciated! ONESHOT


**I woke up this morning and wrote this down. Please comment: good? bad? Anything else?**

**Thank you guys! An imaginary blue cookie for you all! (::)**

**I'm not Nico or Rick Riordan, so I do not own the PJO and HOO series.**

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><p>"Nico," he said quietly. "I know how hard... it must have been for you. I went through it too." Looking into his eyes, I felt the sudden urge to turn away. Those mesmerizing sea green eyes, once so joyful, now seemed shattered. Staring into them felt like examining my face in a cracked mirror, broken beyond repair. His eyes were filled with all the sadness of the world, as if he had seen terrible things. Which he had. He was Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, and one of the Heroes of Olympus. Of course it was him who ended up with this fate. Nobody else would ever be brave enough to fall into the deepest pits of Tartarus, even for their girlfriend. But Percy's relationship with Annabeth was special from the start; best friends and true Greek heroes from the time they first met.<p>

I have spent a few days in Tartarus myself, and I was scarred beyond repair. It is not an experience one can describe easily. Just imagine everything that was ever evil in the world, and make it a place, living and breathing; a physical body, giant of course, but a body nonetheless. And then place in it the most dangerous monsters in existence, bloodthirsty and angry from just being murdered, wandering around in search of a victim. If you can begin to picture me tryng to find my way through that, you have a slight idea of what I experienced. But not even near to what Percy and Annabeth saw.

At the end of Annabeth's quest to find the Mark of Athena, she battled the giant spider Arachne- who had a certain love for slaughtering children of Athena. Annabeth won, but Arachne wove a small web around her ankle, just enough to pull her into the open chasm to Tartarus. At this point, Percy, the other heros, and I had arrived. Percy saw her falling, and ran to catch her, but could only grab her hand. He yelled at me to find the House of Hades, the only exit from Tartarus. And then they both fell: to the ultimate home of evil. I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not, but I heard a faint whisper as Percy let go of the ledge he was clinging to with one hand. "We're staying together," Percy promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

"As long as we're together," Annabeth responded. I still don't know whether they are the most crazy or the most courageous people I have ever met.

During their two week stay in Tartarus, I would have periodic dreams of them, bloody and battered, making their way to the Doors of Death- the only way out of Tartarus, located in his heart. I watched as they started to break. Percy, sending poison back at Misery herself, a crazed look in his eyes. Annabeth, losing her knife that she had recieved when she was seven. Seeing when she and Percy were cursed by the Arai; demons who controlled and then implemented the dying curses of monsters. The both of them finding help in Bob the Titan and Damasen the only good Giant. Percy and Annabeth using the Death Mist to become closer to being dead to hide from the monster army gathering at the Doors of Death. And then watching them both look on in horror as Bob and Damasen gave up their lives for the two demigods to escape, fighting an incarnation of Tartarus himself. I cried each night, watching the two of them support each other, and battle evil after evil. So young, so brave, so stupid, so wonderful, so good. So very good in a world of evil.

But the reason that they had survived for so long was simple. They had each other. They fought for each other. I had nobody when I went, but I don't feel sorry. I'm just glad that they were lucky to have each other, just so that they could look to their side and remember that they were still alive. That goodness existed.

Now, seeing them after I fulfilled my promise to help them escape, I was both awed and terrified. I saw how deep their bond is. Their love for each other only grew more powerful in Tartarus, believe it or not, and now it felt like they were beyond simply love. Beyond need. They completed each other. In the Symposium, Plato wrote, "According to Ancient Greek history, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves." Percy and Annabeth are each other's halves. They are beyond even the bond of marriage. Together they are one. But even though they helped each other, I saw their pain, too. I watched what powers the evil atmosphere had unlocked within them, the little bit of evil in everyone, and how they were almost unhinged. I looked into their haunted eyes, flickering with memories of evil, pain, and death. When both of them turned to face me, I was met with two shattered souls, desperately clinging together, and starting to heal, but cracked nonetheless. Their eyes were the same ones I saw in the mirror everyday- young heroes who had seen and felt too much pain, but somehow stayed sane. Percy and Annabeth have been inseparable ever since they came back, and I know exactly why. They are each other's lifeline, a symbol that good can prevail. I wonder how they will cope with their memories. I didn't cope with mine: I blocked them out, and I feel the pain again now. Maybe I'll work through my thoughts and feelings. Maybe they will too. But all I know is that they will do it together.


End file.
